Antiquing wax, otherwise known as dark wax, is very popular when it comes to refinishing furniture. Especially with chalk paint, there are endless looks that you can choose from, and adding dark wax is a great option for giving a piece of furniture an old, rustic finish. There are three steps to take when prepping for wax and I will be sharing them all here for you. I refinished this rocking chair with a beautiful antiqued finish, and I will be showing you the steps that I used to achieve the look. I learned a lot of information from other women who have great experience refinishing furniture, so I will be sure to link some of those blogs at the end of this post for even more inspiration for you.
Prep/Paint
This one is pretty obvious, but it is necessary to complete all prepping and paint before you start to apply the dark wax. Depending on what type of paint you use will determine what kind of prep needs to be done. After you have painted and let it dry, then the fun waxing can begin! In this case, the rocking chair was already painted white, so I was able to skip right to the waxing. Also, you need to be sure that there is no dust or dirt on your piece before you start waxing. If you just painted your piece, you will have completed that step before you applied your first coat of paint.
Clear Wax
Applying clear wax is an extremely important step, especially when you are going to be applying a dark wax to a piece of furniture. Clear wax should be applied before a dark wax to achieve the look that you are going for. You should also make sure the clear wax is not dry yet when beginning to apply dark wax. I applied the clear wax in small spots at a time and then applied the dark wax over top. I used a lint free cloth for both waxes and simply wiped it on, then wiped the extra wax off.
Dark Wax
As I just mentioned above, the clear wax must go on before the dark wax. I used a lint free cloth to apply the waxes in sections until the whole piece was covered and I achieved the look that I wanted. The dark wax will adhere to the clear wax and stick in the details of the piece, making it look aged and beautiful. You can see in the photo below that there is some dark wax in the details and curves of the backing of the chair.
Basically, the steps for applying the dark wax are as follows:
- Use lint free cloth or wax brush to apply clear wax, wipe excess off.
- Use lint free cloth or wax brush to apply dark wax, wipe excess off.
- Add and wipe off as much wax as needed for the look that you want.
- Let dry.
Kilz Dark Wax 
White Paint with both Clear and Dark Wax Added
Final Product
The final outcome is a beautiful, antiqued piece that looks authentic and professional. Using dark wax is a great way to give your pieces a different look so you can try something new.
More Inspiration
As promised, I mentioned that I would include some other inspiration posts about using dark wax. I learned a lot of my techniques through watching their videos and reading their blog posts. I hope you enjoyed my post and will also enjoy learning and getting inspiration from these ladies as well!
Beautiful review of chalk paint and how she uses wax from Sarah of Sarah Joy Blog.
Detailed tutorial of paint and waxing from Erin of Cotton Stem.
I hope you enjoyed this post and learned that applying dark wax is a super easy technique to use! For more ideas and inspiration of chalk paint and wax, visit my instagram @prettyinplaids.
